Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
05/01/2016
ePortfolio Civic Engagement Final Assignment
The civic engagement activity I attended was a screening from South Jordan City
Library about Jesse Owens and his participation/representation at the 1936 World
Olympics in Nazi Germany. I found it surprisingly difficult to find anything that would
get me involved with my community. Luckily my local library was able to assist me
in that matter with allowing me to view the Documentary. The Documentary is
entitled "Jesse Owens American Experience by Laurens Grant." I was unaware that
there was a world Olympics being held in Nazi Germany but the Documentary
focused on several points that I was quite happy about. Some key points I noticed
were not only about Jesse Owens but also how the Jewish people were portrayed in
society and Propaganda both in the United States and Germany and how those
forms affected the morale of the people. The Run time of the film is just over 60
minutes but I was able to obtain more information than I thought I would from a
simple documentary.
Jesse Owens was a young African American track superstar. He was able to
set the world record in several events including: The Long Jump, 100 Meter dash,
and 300-meter dash. He grew up in Ohio and was on the Ohio State University
track team. He took his passion very seriously and at a time where racism was
much worse than today, it was a struggle for him to compete in many competitions.
He was unable to stay with his team or even eat with them while they were
traveling. But he walked away from the hatred of others by simply saying on several
occasions "It's their problem, not mine." It amazed me that people can go from
turning this amazing man down at a restaurant, to cheering for him during the
Olympics just a short time after.
We were able to see video of the streets of Germany when he first arrived.
Although signs of the Nazi party were plastered all over the streets there was
something missing. Nazi Germany had taken down all of the signs of the
mistreatment of Jews. Hitler knew how powerful visuals could be around the world
and during this time he wanted Germany to appear superior and welcoming. He
ordered everyone to take down any obvious signs that the Jews were being treated
wrongly. They didnt keep this appearance up all through the Olympics though.
Hitler Refused to shake Jesse Owens Hand when he won his Olympic medal for the
United States stating that he "Would never allow a picture to be taken of him
shaking hands with a dirty Negro. This was a shock to Jesse and a headliner in
papers across the U.S.